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Saturday, November 1, 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assumption that in prehistoric
mythological times India had mastered genetic science and plastic
surgery is irrational

What do we expect of our prime ministers? This is not a
rhetorical question and you’ll soon see why. We expect integrity,
commitment, dedication, administrative expertise and, hopefully, a fair
modicum of intelligence. But is that all?

As
important as all the other qualities, we also expect rationality. We may
not always agree with what our prime ministers say or are committed to
do but we assume that their thoughts and actions are rational,
well-considered and credible. In other words, even if their decisions
turn out to be wrong — and that often happens — they won’t offend
against common sense.

It is here that I have a bone
to pick with Narendra Modi. Speaking at the inauguration of the Sir H.N.
Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre last Saturday, he
said: “Mahabharat ka kehna hai ki Karn maa ki godh se paida nahi hua
tha. Iska matlab yeh hai ki us samaye genetic science mojud tha … Hum
Ganeshji ki puja kiya karte hain, koi to plastic surgeon hoga us zamane
main, jisne manushye ke sharir par haathi ka sar rakh kar ke plastic
surgery ka prarambh kiya hoga.” [It is said in the Mahabharata that
Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means in the times in
which the epic was written genetic science was very much present. We all
worship Lord Ganesha; for sure there must have been some plastic
surgeon at that time, to fit an elephant’s head on the body of a human
being.]

No doubt many Hindus share Mr. Modi’s
assumption that in prehistoric mythological times India had mastered
genetic science and plastic surgery. As individuals they are free to
believe what they want. But for the Prime Minister of India to proclaim
this belief as fact — and that too at the inauguration of a hospital —
is something else.

Why? This is because it’s not
rational to use mythology as the basis for claiming scientific
achievements. First, there’s no proof other than the assumption the myth
is true and that’s an unwarranted assumption. Second, how do you
account for the fact the scientific knowledge and achievements you are
boasting of have been lost, if not also long forgotten, and there is no
trace of any records to substantiate they ever occurred?

Even
worse, Mr. Modi’s views echo those of Dinanath Batra. His books are now
part of the curriculum in 42,000 schools across Gujarat and carry
messages from Mr. Modi when he was Chief Minister. They claim stem cell
research was known in the days of Kunti and the Kauravas, television was
invented at the time of the Mahabharata and the motor car existed in
the Vedic period. Few would deny this is nonsense. Why wouldn’t you say
the same for the claim India mastered genetic science and plastic
surgery in prehistoric times?

I have two further
points. First, Mr. Modi wants to build smart cities, stresses the need
for education and is proud of the successful mission to Mars. He
believes in digital India, wants to import bullet trains and ‘Make in
India’ state-of-the-art defence weaponry. These are 21st century
ambitions. How does all of that sit alongside this belief in unverified
mythology? Are they not contradictory?

Second, Greek
mythology has centaurs and minotaurs; the Persians have the griffin;
the British the unicorn; and fairy tales have mermaids and werewolves.
Mr. Modi’s position would also lead us to believe these creatures
actually existed. But does anyone believe they did? Surely only in our
dreams? Or only whilst we were children?

Ultimately,
my problem with the Prime Minister’s comment goes a step further, but
it could be the most critical of all. Under Article 51 A (h) of the
Constitution it’s the fundamental duty of every citizen to develop a
scientific temper. I can’t see how the Prime Minister is doing that by
blatantly claiming medical advances on the basis of unverified myths.
His views clearly and undeniably contradict this constitutional
requirement. In fact, if he thinks about it I feel confident Mr. Modi
would not disagree!

These are troubling doubts and
for the Prime Minister to be the cause of them is even more worrying.
Finally, I’m dismayed this issue has not got greater attention in the
media. Nor, to my astonishment, has any Indian scientist refuted the
Prime Minister’s claims. Their silence is perplexing. The silence of the
media is deeply disturbing. It feels as though it’s been deliberately
blanked out by everyone.

(Karan Thapar is a television commentator and anchor of the Headlines Today programme, To The Point)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

It ranks 114 out of 142 countries in World Economic Forum’s 2014 gender gap index

India has performed poorly in removing gender-based disparities, ranking
114 out of 142 countries in World Economic Forum’s 2014 gender gap
index, scoring below average on parameters like economic participation,
educational attainment and health and survival.

On the other hand, India is among the top 20 best-performing countries on the political empowerment subindex.

The index was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 as a
framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and
tracking their progress. The index benchmarks national gender gaps on
economic, political, education and health criteria.

On the criteria of economic participation and opportunity, India was
ranked 134. Its female to male ratio in labour force participation was
0.36. The disparity in estimated earned income was high with females
earning USD 1980 compared to USD 8087 earned by their male counterparts.

On educational attainment, India ranked 126 with female to male ratio in
literacy rate at 0.68. India was the second-lowest performing country
on health and survival, ranking 141 just ahead of Armenia.

However, on political empowerment subindex, India ranked an impressive
15. It is the highest-ranked country on the years with female head of
state (over the past 50 years) indicator. There is also some evidence
from India to suggest that women in local government roles make
decisions with better outcomes for communities than men do when charged
with budget decisions. They also appear to be more competent
representatives than men, obtaining more resources for their
constituencies despite having significantly lower education and relevant
labour market experience.

The report said that India has the highest difference between women and
men on the average minutes spent per day on unpaid work—a difference of
300 minutes. It is also among the countries with the highest difference
in the female and male percentage of total R&D personnel. India has
one of the lowest percentages of firms with female participation in
ownership.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Compared to the UPA-style paralysis, there are some welcome signs of
movement with the new government, but its direction remains, at best,
unclear, if not worrisome. It is good to see a leader with conviction,
but we are already treading the thin line between decisiveness and
authoritarianism

It is unfair to judge a new government and a new leader in just 100 days.
It is silly to assess the changing mood of the nation or the state of
the polity so soon after a landmark electoral verdict. Yet, there is
something we can do. We can notice a pattern in the priorities of the
government, see the direction of the new regime, say something about the style of the new leader and make an intelligent guess about future politics.

Going by this, the first 100 days of the Narendra Modi government offer
more worries than hope. Compared to the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA)-style paralysis, we see some welcome signs of movement. But the
direction of this movement remains, at best, unclear, if not worrisome.
It is good to see a leader with conviction, but we are already treading
the thin line between decisiveness and authoritarianism. A government
that lacks a clear direction and an Opposition that lacks political will
or wisdom threaten to deepen the political vacuum in the country.

Active foreign policy

Let us begin with the positives. A new government always kindles hopes and the Prime Minister’s utterances
have as yet not doused popular hopes. His speech in the Central Hall
and Independence Day address were not visionary, but it was a relief to
see a Prime Minister who looked into the eyes of his people and spoke
his mind. He was down to earth, appeared to be outside the power elite
of Delhi, was concerned with issues that affect people in their everyday
life and seemed willing to rise above the petty politics of a blame
game. This powerful communication appears to have made up for his
reluctance to face the media. And if opinion polls are anything to go
by, his popularity and image have received a boost that every incumbent
Prime Minister enjoys early on.

The real question is: how do his utterances translate into action? This
is where things get muddy. The one area where the new government has
been somewhat inexplicably active is foreign policy. And there are many
things to commend here: the invitation to the leaders of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for the Prime Minister’s
swearing-in ceremony, the toning down of the imperious attitude towards
Nepal and a willingness to stand up to first-world bullying at the World
Trade Organization (WTO). At the same time, the new government has
diluted further our principled stand on Palestine, is unclear about what
it wishes to do with BRICS and keeps sending conflicting signals about
Pakistan. There does not seem to be a coherent strategy underlying the foreign policy activism of the Modi government.

Electoral promises

Much was expected on the economic front of the government that promised
everything to everyone in the run-up to the election. The problem here
is not a lack of coherence but that the emerging priorities of the
government do not square up with its declared intent. More than the
Union Budget — rightly described as a UPA-III budget — the government
has unveiled its economic policy through a series of specific decisions.
The willingness of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to make a U-turn on
its earlier opposition to foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence,
railways and insurance shows its priorities. That’s why a section of business seems to be happy and hopeful about this regime.

But there is very little visible action on some of the big ticket and
high decibel electoral promises. Mr. Modi had promised nothing short of
controlling inflation and providing jobs to everyone. Inaction on these aam aadmi concerns
does not augur well for a government whose commitment to the poor is
already suspect. In fact, the new government has gone back on some
specific promises made to the aam aadmi. The BJP has already
reneged on its manifesto promise to revise the Minimum Support Price on
the lines suggested by the Swaminathan Commission, viz., cost
plus 50 per cent. The proposed dilution of the Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act would reinforce the impression that
farmers do not quite figure as a priority of this government.

On futuristic sectors like the environment and education, it’s plain bad
news so far. The government is keen to go back to the old days of
growth-at-any-cost, throwing all environmental caution to the wind.
Hasty clearance for increasing the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam and
the Ken-Betwa river linking project are mere symptoms of systematic
damage to the regime of environmental protection carefully put together
over the years. Forest clearance norms have been relaxed, pollution
standards have been diluted, the autonomy of the National Board for
Wildlife has been compromised, and attempts are afoot to downgrade the
Green Tribunal.

On education,
it is not clear if the government has begun to understand the enormity
of the challenge in this sector. Forcing schoolchildren all over the
country to stay back in order to listen to the Prime Minister on
Teacher’s Day is no way to begin addressing the challenge of quality of
education in the post-Right to Education (RTE) era. Occasional forays
into higher education without a road map threaten to make an already bad
situation much worse. While the government has not officially endorsed
any of the loose talk about changing the curricula, the noise may have
already begun to induce self-censorship, and thus curb innovation and
creativity.

Religious harmony

One of the biggest fears associated with this government was its
hostility to diversity, especially religious diversity. While the Prime
Minister has been careful not to say anything that would accentuate this
fear, the trouble is that he just has to be himself to make the
minorities feel uneasy. Given his image, the Prime Minister not hosting iftaar acquires
more weight than his conciliatory words about communal harmony. The
context of rising communal tension, especially in election-bound States,
suggests that the arena of action has shifted outside the government.
There appears to be crowd sourcing of communalism, with occasional and
strategic help from the Sangh Parivar. An obsession with the short-term
objective of winning Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and at least the
Jammu region in Jammu and Kashmir has made the ruling party oblivious to
the long-term cost of communal polarisation to the idea of India, and
indeed to this regime itself.

Challenge of governance

The immediate and crucial test for Mr. Modi is going to be the challenge
of governance. He of course enjoys a headstart over the UPA-II
government — that lost legitimacy for being both corrupt and
inefficient. It is natural that routing measures of administrative agility and efficiency
like ensuring attendance of government employees win popular approval.
The trouble would begin when people start demanding outcomes. As of now,
the government has not shown much resolve to stand by its commitment
towards a corruption-free government. This government appointed the
Supreme Court mandated Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money
over which the UPA government had dragged its feet, but it seems to have
forgotten its promise of getting black money back to the country within
the first 100 days. The removal of Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi from the post
of Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) showed that the government failed an early test of
integrity.

Can Mr. Modi reverse these early signs and defy his critics? He clearly
has time on his side. And he still has public support, if he is willing
to learn and change. This is where the heart of the problem lies. The
Prime Minister, the Leader and the Party Boss all rolled into one is
closed to anything and anyone that can make him learn and change. He
does not respect the autonomy of institutions like the Supreme Court. He
does not allow procedures and norms to come in the way of what he
wills, as in the case of the appointment of his Principal Secretary.
Voices of dissent, whether in the Opposition or from within his party,
are not welcome. Even Ministers are subject to strict surveillance.
Loyalty must be rewarded even if it means retaining tainted ministers
and making Mr. Amit Shah the head of the BJP. These are not signs of
authority but that of authoritarianism.

Bad signals from the ruling party do not translate into good news for
the Opposition either. The success of the incumbent Congress in the
recent by-polls in Uttarakhand and Karnataka may have been illusory. The
success of the grand anti-BJP alliance in Bihar is no more than a
tactical victory; in the long run, it is going to help the BJP
consolidate its newly acquired political support. In the first 100 days
we have seen a government, warts and all. But we have not seen much of
an Opposition. The remaining 1,725 days offer space for a true and
principled Opposition, for alternative politics.

(Yogendra Yadav is a Member of the National Political Affairs
Committee and the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party. E-mail: yogendra.yadav@gmail.com)

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Jairam Ramesh in The Hindu-

Transformational leaders will be judged not merely by the style of their speeches but more by the substance of their actions

The Prime Minister’s maiden Independence Day speech from
the ramparts of Red Fort has drawn wide encomiums. While invoking our
founding fathers, he was decidedly partisan in not mentioning Jawaharlal
Nehru, a key architect of the modern Indian nation state with its
profound commitment to parliamentary democracy, secularism, science and
technology, and economic development. Other than this glaring and
undoubtedly deliberate lapse, the speech brought into sharp public focus
a couple of social evils that continue to be a scourge on our society.

Low child sex ratio

First,
the Prime Minister’s concern over female foeticide and infanticide,
reflected most vividly in low child sex ratios (0-6 years), was very
timely and urgently needed. Such a ratio at around 950 (that is, 950
girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 years age group) would be considered
acceptable. But in India, it has fallen from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2011
and further to 914 in 2011. All our previous Prime Ministers too had
expressed anguish at these numbers. Over the past two decades,
determined social and political action have improved the situation
somewhat in Punjab and Haryana — two States with notoriously low child
sex ratios. The 2011 census revealed that the child sex ratio in Punjab
was 846 as compared to 798 in 2001, while in Haryana it was 830 in 2011
as compared to 819 in 2001. These are still unacceptably low but the
trend is encouraging.

But Delhi continues to be a
cause for worry, showing a fall from 868 in 2001 to 866 in 2011. And
what about Gujarat that is often held out to be a “model” of development
for the entire nation to emulate? Gujarat’s sex ratio in 2011 was 886
(as compared to 883 in 2001) — a marginal increase no doubt, but
significantly worse than the ratios in the southern States (959 in
Kerala and 946 in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka). Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir showed
sharp declines in child sex ratios between 2001 and 2011. Incidentally,
while overall sex ratios (number of females per 1,000 males) have shown
an increase across the country in 2011 over 2001, they have shown a
decline in three States: Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and the Prime
Minister’s showcase, Gujarat, where the overall sex ratio in 2011 was
919, as compared to 1,084 in Kerala and 996 in Tamil Nadu.

Second,
the Prime Minister’s pain regarding the unconscionably high levels of
open defecation in India should be shared by all unreservedly. Open
defecation is an assault on the dignity, privacy and security of women.
Less appreciated is that poor sanitation practices in our country are
leading to a condition that public health experts call “environmental
enteric dysfunction.” This condition contributes significantly to the
persistently high levels of child malnutrition seen most visibly in
stunting levels and tragically, perhaps, in loss of cognitive abilities
as well. Clearly, chronic malnutrition cannot be combated only through
ensuring food security. It must involve a fundamental transformation in
sanitation and hygiene as well.

The Prime Minister
stressed the provision of toilets in all schools, particularly for
girls. That is certainly needed. But actions across many other fronts
are also called for. The Indian Railways that carries over 20 million
passengers daily is the world’s largest open sewer. More than
extraordinarily expensive bullet trains that will cost upward of Rs. 100
crore a kilometre, what the country desperately needs are trains with
bio-toilets. At present, over 60,000 coaches in use need to be
retrofitted with this Defence Research and Development
Organisation-developed technology and, of course, the 4,000 coaches that
are manufactured annually must already have this installed when they
are pressed into service. These bio-toilets are as essential for India
as missiles and other technologies developed by the DRDO.

Thanks
to the decisions taken by the United Progressive Alliance government as
part of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), some 28 per cent of all
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) works
in 2013-14 related to the construction of toilets. The unit cost of the
toilets now being built was increased from Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 10,000. This
has made a difference. For the first time, the NBA had provisions for
dealing with liquid and solid waste management. The Prime Minister has
spoken about involving the corporate sector as well. The UPA government
had already made sanitation an important part of the guidelines for
corporate social responsibility (CSR) stipulated in the Companies Act,
2013.

The Prime Minister’s priority to sanitation
cannot but get support from across the political spectrum. States like
Sikkim, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are almost open defecation-free.
Kolhapur is about to become Maharashtra’s first open defecation-free
district and Churu and Burhanpur are on the way towards this distinction
in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively. Tiruchirappalli has
become India’s first open defecation-free municipal corporation. Women’s
self-help groups that have been a remarkable success story in State
after State must mainstream sanitation into their activities. But toilet
construction is only one part of the story — much more important is a
gigantic shift in mindsets and behavioural patterns. Nothing short of a
social or cultural revolution will do. The nation needs to be shocked
into it — that was the spirit of my “toilets before temples”, “women
have more mobiles in India than toilets” and “no toilets, no brides”
remarks that created a furore when they were first made two years back
and got the Prime Minister’s ideological brotherhood all agitated.

Manual scavenging

Given
the time he devoted to sanitation in his speech, it would have only
been appropriate that the Prime Minister spoke feelingly about the
persistent prevalence of manual scavenging across the country, even
though affidavits are filed by States in courts stating that this
dehumanising practice sanctioned by our caste system has been abolished.
The 2011 Census revealed that there are still 26 lakh dry latrines in
the country and there could still be 3 lakh families engaged in this
appalling and degrading occupation. In September 2013, the UPA
government had got Parliament to pass a tough new law, The Prohibition
of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
This “right to dignity” was very much part of the rights-based approach
of the UPA that was launched with the passage of the Right to
Information Act in September 2005. The Prime Minister and his colleagues
have often criticised this approach but surely the ruthless
implementation of this new legislation on manual scavenging is deserving
of his special attention.

Transformational leaders
will be judged not merely by the style of their speeches but more by the
substance of their actions. The nation awaits a Prime Minister who,
even if he disdains Nehru, governs at least in the Vajpayee mould: in a
large-hearted spirit of give and take; one who takes people of different
political backgrounds along amicably in the pursuit of pressing
national endeavours.

Friday, August 15, 2014

India must devise a demographic policy to separately meet the requirements of the young, middle-aged and elderly

The Census data released recently show that unemployment in the country,
especially among the youth, is very high, averaging nearly 20 per cent
for the age group of 15-24 years. In some States like Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and
Kashmir, the unemployment rate is above 25 per cent. Prosperous States
like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra have averages that are
less than half of the national average. Demographic dividend in the
country is not being appropriately used and there is a need to revisit
the demographic policy so as to tap benefits from the youth.

Devising a demographic policy

There is also a larger issue of devising a demographic policy to
separately meet the requirements of the young, middle-aged and older
segment of the population. The reason for unemployment could be the lack
of employment because of the quality of education or lack of
opportunities. India has more than 71,000 pre-degree colleges and senior
secondary schools, 25,938 colleges for professional educational and 436
universities. These are in addition to the nearly 14 lakh schools in
the country for a population of 25 crore children in the age group of
5-14 years. Hence, given the number of educational institutions, there
is a need to improve the quality of education by ushering in
competition, by probably inviting foreign universities to set up
campuses in India.

Employment creation is a function of economic growth, capital investment
and infrastructure. As the process involves a long gestation period,
one practical way could be to train our youth for employment
opportunities abroad. India already has a strong outflow of migrants of
which two-thirds migrate to the Gulf countries, 13 per cent migrate to
North America while Asian countries, other than Persian Gulf, absorb
about 10 percent. In contrast, fast-ageing Europe attracts less than 3
per cent of migrants but offers excellent opportunities for high and
medium-skilled labour, especially in Italy, Germany, Poland and France.
These opportunities need to be availed of the near future by appropriate
manpower planning. In recent years, migration to countries like Spain,
Switzerland, Italy and the U.K. has increased but not in significant
numbers to Germany, France and Poland. In fact, the flow of migrants to
countries like Portugal and Austria declined in the last decade. These
countries need immigrants as the native population in many of these
countries is shrinking, given the low birth rate averaging 1.6 births
per woman against the replacement rate of 2.1. In countries like
Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland, the birth rate is less than 1.5
births per woman and these countries depend on immigrants. According to
official statistics, consequent to ageing, one-third Europeans would be
above 65 years of age by 2060. Consequently, migration to Europe is
expected to increase significantly by 2020 — 1 million in Germany, 1.1
million in Spain, 1.3 million in Poland, 1.4 million in the U.K., and
2.1 million in France. Further, migration is expected to add up to 60
million people in Europe by 2060.

Providing suitable skills

In view of the fact that Indians migrate to the West in large numbers,
the need is to ensure that they are suitably skilled. The plight of most
illiterate and non-skilled migrants, generally illegal migrants, is
pitiable. To equip them with suitable skills, cooperation from countries
which are seeking immigrants can be sought. The Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs can explore guided migration agreements, bilateral with
each of the countries in Europe and multilateral with the Euro area to
educate and prepare migrants for the destination countries. The
universities from these countries can be invited to India to train our
youth in soft skills and necessary professional activities. Such
well-trained migrants would serve two important functions: they would
serve as brand ambassadors of the country and as a rich source of
remittance.

Helping the elderly

There is one silent segment of the population, the elderly, which gets
neglected in most of the policies of the government. There are more than
11 crore elderly people in India who are above the age of 60 years —
generally women — who are in urgent need of care, as nearly 90 per cent
of them who are associated with the unorganised sector are not included
in any sustainable social security programme. While some three crore
elderly people who are under the ‘below poverty line’ category get about
Rs. 500 as old age pension, the remaining eight crore have to fend for
themselves. In view of the weak and inadequate public healthcare system,
they have limited access to medical services, many research studies
have discovered. In contrast to many countries in Europe where
age-related expenditure on health and care is 8-10 per cent of GDP, it
is less than 1 per cent in India. Some simple initiatives to help the
elderly could include granting respectable amounts of universal pension
and universal insurance to help them live with dignity. The universal
pension could increase with age, especially for women.

Finally, there is a need to address two things in connection with
changing demographics in India — a need to have a think tank to study
the problems of the elderly and age-related financial economics and a
need to develop the science of medical gerontology, an area which is
neglected in the country.

(Charan Singh is RBI Chair Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.)

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Syrian government troops captured a fiercely contested suburb of the
capital Thursday after five months of heavy fighting, flushing rebels
from their last hideouts and quickly moving to crush pockets of
resistance in the surrounding countryside, activists and state media
said.

The fall of Mleiha, located some 10 km southeast of downtown Damascus,
marks the latest setback for rebels around the capital. Over the past
year, the opposition has watched as one stronghold after another has
either slipped into government hands or been forced to strike lopsided
truces.

The military’s campaign around Damascus has succeeded in pushing the
rebels farther from the heart of the city, while also strengthening
President Bashar Assad’s once shaky hold on the capital.

Assad’s forces have waged a ferocious offensive since April to try to
dislodge rebels from Mleiha, pounding the town with airstrikes and
artillery. Both sides placed a premium on controlling Mleiha because of
its strategic location near the highway to the Damascus airport, as well
the opposition stronghold of eastern Ghouta.

Government troops backed by fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah, a
Shiite militant group, finally seized the town Thursday, the
Britain—based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“Mleiha is under government control, but there is still fighting in the
areas surrounding the town,” said Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman.

Syrian TV said army units have restored peace and security to Mleiha
after destroying the last of the terrorist groups there. The government
calls those fighting to topple Assad terrorists.

Syrian state TV and Lebanon’s Al—Mayadeen and Al—Manar TV stations
broadcast live from the northern part of Mleiha Thursday. The footage
showed bombed out buildings and dusty, rubble—strewn streets.
Electricity cables dangled from apartment blocks.

“The Syrian army carried out early Thursday a critical military
operation on the edges of the town through which it was able to take by
surprise and destroy large numbers of Nusra Front terrorists,” Syrian TV
said, referring to the al—Qaida—affiliated rebel group.

It showed soldiers waving their rifles in the air and shouting pro—Syria
slogans in celebration. The crackle of gunfire could be heard, which
the correspondent said was fighting on the edge of the town.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Kiev has admitted showering the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk
with dozens of missiles from the air, saying that its Air Force
helicopters and jets “fired more than 150 missiles” in Monday’s military
action.DEATH TOLL: 181 people killed, 293 injured in
Kiev military op
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
also confirmed on Tuesday that the deadly explosion at the city’s
administrative building was indeed an airstrike. Kiev has so far
denied the responsibility for the incident, saying its forces “do not target”
civilian areas.

The OSCE Ukrainian mission’s daily report stated that “on
June 2, around 15:00 local time missiles hit the building of the
regional government administration. According to the observers’
data, the strike was carried out with non-guided missiles
launched from an aircraft.”
According to an earlier statement by the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry, the intense bombing in Lugansk area was meant to
“support the Ukrainian Border Guards,” which the local
militia have been trying to take under control.

“All in all, for fulfilling the combat support of the
Ukrainian border guards the army aviators fired more than 150
missiles, carried out three jet sorties and five helicopter
sorties,” the statement says.

The air support was backed by fighter jets launching decoy flares
to prevent the attacking aircraft from being targeted from the
ground.

According to the ministry, two self-defense checkpoints were
destroyed in the attack.

Not all the Monday fighting was on the outskirts of Lugansk,
apparently, as one Ukrainian missile hit the occupied Lugansk
administration building, killing at least eight civilians inside and nearby.
Some Kiev politicians have laid the blame on the self-defense
forces for the “blast,” which has undoubtedly been
confirmed as an airstrike by the accounts of witnesses and the
CCTV footage from the scene.

At least 120 people were killed in northern Yemen on Monday in
fighting between Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels and government forces
before a ceasefire was agreed, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday.

Ahmed al-Bekry, deputy governor of Omran province, said that Yemeni war
planes bombed positions held there by Houthi fighters and army forces
clashed with the rebels, killing around 100 of them. He said about 20
government soldiers were killed as well.

He said fighting ended by Monday evening after the sides agreed a ceasefire and no clashes were reported on Tuesday.

"Things are calm (today) after mediation efforts led by the interior
minister," Bekry told Reuters, adding Yemeni air force action on Monday
was one of the main reasons for the Houthis' assent to a truce.

Yemen has been in turmoil since 2011, when mass protests forced long-ruling president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

As well as the fighting in Omran, where the Shi'ite tribal militia is
trying to cement its control over the northern highlands, Yemen is
facing a threat from al Qaeda and a challenge from separatists in the
south.

Clashes have repeatedly erupted in the past months
between government troops and Houthis - named after the Shi'ite tribe of
its leaders - as Sanaa struggles to restore nationwide control.

The Houthis blame elements of the Sunni Muslim Islah party within
government forces and in the Omran local administration for the
fighting.

Government officials say the Houthis, who have
repeatedly fought government forces since 2004, are trying to tighten
their grip on the north before next year's election and as Yemen eyes
moves towards a federal-style devolution of power to regions.

Friday, May 23, 2014

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Russia’s KPRF has attacked plans of the acting Ukrainian president to
ban the Communist party in the country, as a threat to all leftist and
patriotic forces, and says such a step is typical of fascist regimes of
the past.
“All fascist regimes in the world started their activities
with a ban on Communist parties. Such threats are a threat to all
leftist popular and patriotic forces,” the leader of Russian
Communists, Gennady Zyuganov, said at a roundtable in the State
Duma on Wednesday.
Zyuganov said the Communist Party of the Russian Federation had
prepared a draft motion against the attempts to ban the Communist
Party of Ukraine, and would submit it to the Lower House in the
near future.
The Communist Party chief also added that he doubted the
situation in Ukraine would change after the forthcoming
presidential poll. “The suggestion that anything would settle
there after May 25 is just an illusion. Presently, there are no
conditions in Ukraine for holding normal elections,” he
said.
Zyuganov called for Russian authorities to give greater support
to the residents of the South-Eastern regions of Ukraine who
support the federalization of the country. “No one is
demanding to send in troops, but we have a right to support our
friends and brothers,” he stated. “It is our duty to
express our common will and do everything to help the Ukrainian
people get rid of the fascist junta that tries to establish
itself with US guidance,” Zyuganov told the Russian
parliamentarians.
The center-left Fair Russia party has backed the initiative.
“We are unconditionally supporting the motion in support of
the Ukrainian Communist Party because while approaches to
ideology might differ, a ban on a political parliamentary party
in any country is a nonsense, and should not be allowed,”
Fair Russia leader Sergey Mironov has said.
On Monday this week Ukraine’s acting president Aleksandr
Turchinov asked the Justice Ministry to ban the Communist Party
for its alleged involvement in the pro-federalist movement in
Donetsk and Lugansk Region that, in Turchinov’s view, were
threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity and national
security.
The communists' policies have an openly anti-constitutional
character Turchinov said in a letter to the Justice Minister.
In mid-May the leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Pyotr
Symonenko, said that the current Kiev regime was killing peaceful
civilians in the country's southeast and spreading lies about the
real situation. Symonenko has called on Kiev to stop its
“anti-terrorist operation,” saying it has now turned
into a “terrorist operation against its own people.”
State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin said on Wednesday that
Symonenko had planned to attend the roundtable in Russia but
could not do so because of threats to his personal safety made in
Ukraine. Naryshkin added that Symonenko had to withdraw from the
Ukrainian presidential race for the same reason.
Curtsy - Russia today

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The latest National Sample Survey data show West Bengal
topped in creation of new jobs in the manufacturing sector among all
States.

During the six years between 2004 and 2011,
more than 40 per cent of new manufacturing jobs created in India were
generated in the then Left-ruled West Bengal.

In all, 58.7 lakh manufacturing jobs were created across India.

Of
these, 24 lakh were in West Bengal. With 14.9 lakh jobs, BJP-ruled
Gujarat was a distant second, shows the state-wise data accessed
exclusively by The Hindu.

The data is
significant as the widespread resistance in 2008 to the Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee government’s acquisition of farmland in Singur for a small
car factory was believed to have hit West Bengal’s attractiveness to
industry. The State eventually lost the Tata Nano factory project to
Gujarat.

Even during the anti-industrial campaign by
the Trinamool Congress, allegedly with the help of Maoists in 2007-08,
the State achieved 12 per cent industrial growth, West Bengal’s Finance
Minister from 1987 to 2012 Asim Dasgupta told The Hindu.

It
also assumes significance as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate,
Narendra Modi, is touting “manufacturing” and “jobs” amongst his main
planks in his election campaign and also the ‘Gujarat model’.

“Our
objective in successive budgets was to increase the State Domestic
Product in a manner that will generate maximum possible employment. Even
in our last year, 2010-11, close to a lakh jobs were generated,” said
Mr. Dasgupta.

“It is widely known that the Assembly
election victory of the Left Front in 2006 was seen by Mr. Bhattacharjee
as a vote for his emphasis on industrialisation,” said a West
Bengal-based Left leader.

Dr. Dasgupta attributes the jobs performance to his government’s push to small-scale industry.

West Bengal has the largest number of small-scale manufacturing units, he said.

“Between 1991 and 2011— when we revised our industrial policy under Jyoti Basu — 2,531 new big and medium units were set up.”

Best period of industrialisation

A
Communist Party of India(Marxist) source said that after the 1960s, the
State saw its best period of industrialisation during 2004-2011.

Small-scale manufacturing enterprises were developed at the district level and all this culminated in Singur.

Prior to Singur, 1,872 middle and big industrial projects were developed during the period.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

China’s rejection of shipments of US corn containing traces of
unapproved genetically modified maize has caused a significant drop in
exports. According to a new report, US traders have lost $427 million in
sales.
Overall, China has barred nearly 1.45 million tons of corn
shipments since last year, the National Grain and Feed
Association (NGFA), an American industry association, said
Friday.
The tally is based on data from export companies and is
significantly higher than the previous numbers reported by the
media, which said roughly 900,000 tons were affected. US corn
exports to China since January are down 85 percent from the same
period last year, the report says.
China has been blocking shipments of American corn from its
market since November. This was caused by the presence of the
MIR162 genetically modified corn strain in the shipments. It was
developed by the company Syngenta and has not been approved by
the Chinese government since an application was submitted in
March 2010.
China has sharply increased corn imports since the late 2000s,
with purchases increasing from 47,000 tons in 2008 to an
estimated 5 million tons last year. It was the third-largest
importer of American corn before the imports of Syngenta’s GMO
strain were blocked.
US traders want seed companies to shoulder some of the losses.
They also say seed companies should not introduce new varieties
of seeds to farmers until they are approved by major markets,
including China.
Part of the ire is also falling on the Chinese government, which,
traders say, maintains an opaque process of approving and
rejecting GMO strains, an accusation that Beijing rejects. China
has so far approved 15 genetically modified corn strains for
import.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Russia can’t continue to prop up Ukraine’s faltering economy, and
this responsibility should fall on the US and EU, which have recognized
the authorities in Kiev but not yet given one dollar to support the
economy, President Putin has said.“The situation is - to put it kindly, strange. It’s known our
partners in Europe have recognized the legitimacy of the
government in Kiev, yet have done nothing to support Ukraine –
not even one dollar or one euro,” Putin said at a meeting
with government officials at his residence outside of Moscow.
“The Russian Federation doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of
the authorities in Kiev, but it keeps providing economic support
and subsidizing the economy of Ukraine with hundreds of millions
and billions of dollars. This situation can’t last
indefinitely,” Putin said.
In December, Russia provided Ukraine with a $3 billion loan,
which was a part of a bigger $15 billion aid package agreed the same month. Russia also offered a 33
percent gas price discount that would have saved more than $7.5
billion.
The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde
said that Russia’s loan tranche last year was
vital for the collapsing Ukraine economy.
In the meantime, the West hasn’t yet effectively provided any
money to Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund has agreed to provide Ukraine a bailout package of up to
$18 billion, but the details are still being worked out. The US
has also promised $1 billion in loan guarantees to
help the collapsing Ukraine economy.

Gassing over gas

At the same meeting, Russia’s Ministry of Energy Alexander Novak
said that Ukraine’s debt to state monopoly Gazprom stands at
$2.238 billion.
Ukraine has not paid for Russian gas since the beginning of 2013,
and with all discounts withdrawn it is now charged $485 per 1,000 cubic
meters of gas.
This is a price Ukraine says it will not pay, claiming it is much
higher than most of the rest of Europe pays for Russian gas.
President Putin also asked Gazprom to refrain from asking advance
payments from Ukraine, until further consultations are held.
“This certainly complies with the contract, but given the
difficult situation in Ukraine and the incompleteness of our
negotiations with the EU, I would ask the Government to hold off
on such measures [advance payments - RT] that appear in the
contract until additional consultations, if, of course, our
partners agree to such consultations.”“If they don’t agree, we’ll act according to the existing
contract,” Putin added.
Ukraine’s reserves of natural gas have dwindled to 6.5 billion
cubic meters which is not enough for the coming winter, Gazprom’s
Deputy Chairman Vitaly Markelov said at the meeting.
Kiev will need 11.5 billion cubic meters to keep the lights on,
Markelov added.
Ukraine’s overall debt to Russia, including the bill for gas, now
stands at $16.6 billion Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Three billion dollars is Ukraine's debt, the accumulated gas
debt stands at $2.2 billion, and what we consider Russia's
profit shortfall, at $11.4 billion, in
total, $16.6 billion."
Moscow turned off gas transit through Ukraine to Europe in the
winter of 2006 and 2009 after Kiev failed to pay its Gazprom
bill, leaving parts of Europe without energy during the winter
months. Moscow has accused Ukraine of siphoning off supplies
intended for Europe during these periods, an accusation Kiev
refutes.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Communist Party candidate has won the mayoral elections in the
‘Siberian capital’, Novosibirsk, leaving behind the United Russia
candidate in what could be seen as a joint achievement by opposition
forces.
Anatoly Lokot has won with about 43.75 percent of votes, the
Novosibirsk regional elections commission reported on Monday
morning. This is not the official result yet, but the preliminary
figure was received after counting over 99 percent of ballots and
any drastic deviations are unlikely.
Lokot’s result was about 4 percent higher than the one of
Vladimir Znatkov - interim mayor representing parliamentary
majority party United Russia. The support of the rest of 11
candidates was negligible – none of them managed to get 4 percent
of the vote.
The mayoral poll was closely watched by the mass media because
Novosibirsk is Russia’s third-largest city, the administrative
and industrial center of Siberia, as well as a major science and
technology hub.
The result was largely unexpected, as until recently United
Russia party had dominated the political scene, capitalizing on
the centrist conservative course which appeals to ordinary
Russians, and taking credit for strong social programs and
independent foreign policy that are both trademarks of President
Vladimir Putin’s course.

United Russia candidate Vladimir Znatkov had the additional
advantages of being acting mayor since January this year and
before that heading the economic bloc in the city administration
for several years. At the same time he faced serious problems
during the race – in March a city court ordered he be removed
from the ballot over abuse of power. Competitors had complained
that Znatkov used every appearance on TV as propaganda and as the
city head he spent more time on screen than the rest of the
contenders. Very soon this decision was overturned by the
regional court, but the damage to Znatkov’s reputation remained.
However, the main reason behind the interim mayor’s defeat is the
coordinated efforts of opposition forces – a relatively rare
occasion in modern Russia. The initial number of registered
candidates in the Novosibirsk poll was 17. In the middle of the
race, five people, including leftist lower house MP Ilya
Ponomaryov and former senator Ivan Starikov, made a pact and
withdrew their candidacies in favor of just one representative of
the opposition - member of the Communist Party’s Central
Committee and former State Duma MP Anatoly Lokot.
One more candidate quit without supporting anyone, bringing the
number of candidates to 11.
On Monday morning Lokot gave a press conference as mayor-elect
and thanked all Novosibirsk residents for their “credit of
trust,” adding that he did not intend to waste it. The first
initiative of the Communist politician was to hold a major
‘Subbotnik’ – a day of voluntary community service that was first
introduced in the early days of the Soviet Union.
The mayor-elect also dismissed media allegations of the looming
“red terror” – major purges in the administration
stating that he planned to use civil servants’ professionalism as
the only criteria in forming the new team. Lokot promised to use
his old connections in the federal power bodies to get more
federal funds for development of the Novosibirsk communal sector
and transport, including the Metro.
The newly-minted mayor also unveiled a plan to boost the
cooperation between the administration and the society by adding
openness to the various state bodies. The first step in this will
be free entrance to City Hall for everyone.
“We should remove all curbs. What is there to be afraid of?
Protest actions? Hard work will do away with such fears,” Lokot
was quoted as saying by Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.

The sudden shipment of anti-tank missiles to Syrian rebels from the
US, which has so far been reluctant to supply any heavy weapons, is
Washington's way of getting back at Russia by hitting the Assad
government, political analyst Chris Bambery told.
On Monday, Israel’s Debkafile website reported that two moderate
Syrian rebel militias, the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian
Revolutionary Front, have been supplied with advanced US weapons — including
armor-piercing, optically-guided BGM-71 TOW missiles.
Q:The US has been apparently reluctant
since the start to send heavy weapons to Syria. Why would
Washington be changing its mind now, if that is the case?Chris Bambery: I think the answer is because of
the cold war which is taking place between Russia and the United
states over the whole question of Ukraine and Crimea, and I think
once again the Americans see hitting the Assad regime as a way of
getting back at Russia. So I think that’s a simple answer. I have
to say I find it strange that we are hearing reports of these
anti-armor weapons being given to these groups in Syria.
At the same time, here in London this week there’s going to be a
conference expressing fears in the West about the number of
jihadists who have gone to volunteer to fight in Syria and the
fact that they could pose a threat when they come back. So we
have British, European, Western governments worried about these
heavy weapons. And as your report makes clear, yes they are
providing them to these two groups who say they are pro-western,
but these two groups say they actually cooperate with Salafist
groups on the Al-Qaeda-linked ground. And secondly, we know as
well that these groups have had difficulty defending their arms
stocks from these groups when they come in. And I think the
question I’m going to ask is, firstly, this is an escalation of
course by providing these weapons — but where is it going to end?
The Americans gave Sergey Lavrov a promise they would not deliver
anti-aircraft weapons to the Syrian rebels. The Saudis, having
provided those weapons, the conduit through which these weapons
have reached the rebels in Syria, will now be pressing Washington
to provide anti-aircraft weapons — and if that happens, it’s
going to be a significant escalation. So I think the West is
opening up a Pandora’s box here and they don’t really know what
they are doing. Once again, the Western policy towards Syria
appears to be uncoordinated. On the one hand, they’re worried
about jihadi groups operating in Syria and on the other hand,
they’re providing heavy weapons such as this.

A
Free Syrian Army fighter gestures as he poses for a photograph in the
town of Morek in Hama province March 11, 2014. (Reuters/Rasem Ghareeb)

Q:What sort of role can they play in
turning the tide in the Syrian conflict with weapons like
these?CB: It seems that the response of the Assad
regime is to withdraw the heavy armor and step up the use of air
power and artillery, which then of course the stepping up of air
power will lead to sure voices from Riyadh demanding
anti-aircraft weapons be supplied by the West to the Syrian
rebels. But I would also have thought that with the help of
Russia and elsewhere, they can quickly find ways of adding extra
armor to the tanks to overcome this problem. It’s not
insurmountable. But it will ring alarm bells in Russia and
elsewhere around the world that actually the Americans are once
again intervening in the Syrian conflict after the debacle of
what took place last summer when Obama was stopped in his tracks
from military intervention in Syria. Once again we’re talking
about a civil war. Providing heavy weapons like this is just
going to add to the slaughter and add to the civilian casualties.
So I don’t know. I can’t find the rationale for Western policy in
Syria. There doesn’t seem to be one, apart from seeing it as a
way they can hit back at Russia, by hitting the Assad regime.
Q:The US and some of its European allies
stopped short of a direct military intervention in Syria last
year - is this position still tenable?CB: I don't think there is any taste in the
West, I mean they were stopped short by public opinion. If you
remember, the House of Commons here in Britain voted against that
because of the distaste people felt towards further military
adventure after the lies of the Iraq war. But very quickly it
became clear that public opinion in America was against military
intervention in Syria.
I think it will be very difficult for Obama to now roll that back
and directly intervene with troops or airstrikes, although his
track record is not a good one, it has to be said when engaging
in military adventures. But I think there's no public support for
this, and hopefully this is as far as it goes. But as I say, the
Saudis will be demanding that Washington increases its arms
supplies to the rebels and they've demanded to provide
anti-aircraft missiles to them.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

The Russian Communist Party has signed a proposition by international
leftist groups condemning NATO politics and demanding the bloc is
disbanded.
The motion was prepared by the Communist Party of Portugal to
mark the 65th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.About 50 different left-wing parties and movements
have already signed it.
“We demand NATO dissolution and support the sovereign right
of all nations to decide on their countries’ withdrawal from this
aggressive alliance,” reads the document, a Russian copy of
which was posted on the Russian Communist Party website on
Wednesday.
The left claim NATO is responsible for the "non-stop"
arms race and blames the bloc and its allies for over two thirds
of the world’s total military budget. Nevertheless, NATO and its
leading member, the USA, are constantly seeking to expand their
military base network and areas of influence, the address reads.
The motion says the bloc acts under its openly hostile strategic
concept and also expands the area where military intervention and
occupation are possible, adding that such behavior confirms
NATO’s main role as “a military wing of the major
transnational monopolies.” It goes on to blame the USA and
its NATO allies for numerous war crimes and significant damage,
for cruel acts of aggression in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and
Libya, interfering with other nations' domestic affairs, like in
Syria or a policy of intimidation that is being applied to Iran.

The leftists also accused NATO, the USA and the European Union
(which they called NATO’s European cushion) of aiding the growing
militarization of international relations and other aggressive
and hostile processes resisting the struggle for freedom of
different peoples and the working class as a whole.
The proposal demands a stop to NATO expansion, the nuclear arms
race, and the program to place US and NATO missile defense
systems in Europe. It also promotes the complete ban on weapons
of mass destruction, and the closure of foreign military bases
all over the world, the immediate withdrawal of foreign military
forces from Afghanistan and other countries.
“We call the working people and nations of the whole world to
join in the common struggle for peace, against war and NATO, and
for the future where peace, progress and social justice would
become priorities, where every nation could freely decide on its
future,” the call reads.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is traditionally
anti-Western and anti-NATO. The official position is much more
tolerant – despite listing NATO as a potential enemy in its
military doctrine, Russia has developed cooperation with the
bloc, allowing cargo to be transported through its territory to
Afghanistan and even opening a major transport hub for the
purpose.
Ordinary Russians are more cautious. According to a poll
conducted by the Levada polling center in mid-2013, two-thirds of
Russians did not consider NATO to be a partner of their country,
and only one in seven Russians thought that cooperation with NATO
was a good thing. At the same time, NATO ranked only 13th in the
rating of external threats, far behind international terrorism,
drug trafficking, Mideast countries and China.

The bloody attack on the border town of Reyhanlı was carried out by
Syrian elements of Al-Qaeda, and not by groups connected to the
government of Bashar Assad, Tacan Ildem, Turkey’s representative to the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), told the
OSCE Permanent Council on March 27. The report, published in Sunday’s
Zaman, is the first time a Turkish official has contradicted the
longstanding Turkish assertion that Damascus was behind the attack. On
May 11, 2013, twin car bombings left 53 people dead and 140 wounded. It
is the single deadliest terrorist act in the history of Turkey.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Western policy towards Syria is rather like Western policy toward
Crimea and Ukraine at the moment – it’s flounring around, talking big
but really not having the will to act, political analyst Chris Bambery
told Russian news

Q:Is pouring more arms into Syria a
realistic way to solve the conflict?Chris Bambery: No, because the Saudi Arabians
can offer money but they can’t offer the sort of arms needed by
the rebels to reverse the civil war, which is taking place and in
which the Assad regime has been winning. The only people who give
the rebels the heavy weapons necessary are realistically the
Americans, and the Saudis are desperate for the Americans to get
involved. The problem the Saudis have is that the Americans and
the West last summer wanted to take military action and they were
forced to back off in part because of Russia and in a large part
because of the public and political reaction in Britain, the US
and elsewhere. And there is also a growing concern in the West
about who these rebels are. The West and the Americans have
always challenged the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian
Army. These people have been pushed aside as they represent very
little on the ground and we are seeing the Salafist groups
supported by Saudi Arabia coming to the floor. And there is
growing concern in the West about the large numbers of these
Salafists who might well return to Britain, France and other
countries in the West. And therefore, the West has got rather
cold feet about getting involved in a civil war. And as that
happens, as the rebels lose ground to the Assad regime, the
Saudis are becoming even more strident in trying to demand that
they give support. But they can’t even secure the vote of the
Arab League to get the Syrian National Council represented in the
vacant seat because the Assad regime is now being excluded.
Q:All this is happening as Western nations
try to exclude Russia from talks, like at the G8 summit, which is
the G7 summit now, where Syria is going to be on the agenda. Do
you think the West will be able to find a solution without
Russia?CB: The West cannot find a solution which does
not involve Russia and does not also involve Iran. They have
excluded Russia and they have not allowed Iran to enter despite
the agreements on the nuclear weapons. Until they involve Russia
and Iran there is going to be no solution in Syria – that is
obvious. And also the other problem they have, as I see it, is
that the people on the ground [among] the Syrian rebels and
Salafists aren’t interested in the peace talks, they aren’t
interested in going to Geneva for these discussions. The West has
got very little control of them. The Saudis have some control of
them and they are not telling them to get involved in the peace
talks either. The Saudis have inflamed the situation in Syria,
they are hardly in control of it. In my assessment, Western
policy toward Syria is rather like Western policy towards Crimea
and Ukraine at the moment. It’s floundering around, talking big
but really not having a will to act. And it’s almost the worst of
the both worlds, the macho-posturing, but actually not backed up
by very much indeed.
Q:Even if the West changes its stance on
Assad, could they possibly support him against the
jihadists?CB: The Salafists are in a stronger position
than they were relatively. But the Assad regime has been winning
victories, in terms of the civil war the odds are on them. And I
think what the West should be looking at is discussions involving
Russia and Iran about the possibility of some sort of change
inside Syria, which maintains the Ba’ath party, that allows those
rebels, and could include a change at the top. I don’t think
Tehran and Moscow will be averse to that, but of course that
involves diplomacy and discussion, and the West is not doing
that. The exclusion of Russia is really a disaster in terms of
the ongoing Syrian peace talks, just as excluding Iran. And the
West is posturing by claiming that actually the Syrian National
Council represents these rebels. It is important to see that the
war in Syria, those people are fighting, the Salafists, the
campaign of terror is one of the sorts of terror that have been
seen invading Iraq. They regard this as the same fight, the same
campaign and the horrific violence, 700 people killed in the last
month in Iraq, is part of the same war people are waging in Syria
at the moment.